Duel

David Mann:
How can he go so fast?

David Mann:
You can't beat me on the grade. You can't beat me on the grade!

David Mann:
Don't... don't... don't sit on the hood. That hood will dent. I told the kids not to get on the hood! Just see if you can bounce it loose, and I'll... ah... just bounce it loose.

David Mann:
There you are, right back in the jungle again.

David Mann:
Come on you miserable fat-head, get that fat-ass truck outta my way!

David Mann:
I'd like to report a truck driver who's been endangering my life.

David Mann:
Come on, car! COME ON, LET'S GO!

David Mann:
That truck driver's crazy, he's been trying to kill me, I mean it!

Bus Driver:
Well, mister, if I was to vote on who's crazy around here, it'd be you.

David Mann:
Well it's about time, Charlie!

Gas station attendant:
Looks like you could use a new radiator hose.

David Mann:
[To himself] Yeah, where have I heard that before... [To the attendant] I'll get one later, thanks.

Gas station attendant:
You're the boss.

David Mann:
Not in my house, I'm not.

Cafe owner:
[as David Mann exits cafe restroom and enters dining area] Are you all right?

David Mann:
Yeah, I'm fine.

Cafe owner:
What happened out there?

David Mann:
Oh, just a slight complication.

Cafe owner:
Oh? Looked like a big complication to me. [Others laugh]

David Mann:
[mistakenly thinking that the man eating a sandwich in the cafe is the truck driver harassing him] Look, uh... I want you to cut it out.

Man in Cafe:
[bites into sandwich, chewing] Wha?

David Mann:
Just... just cut it out, okay?

Man in Cafe:
[bites into sandwich again, chewing] Cut what out?

David Mann:
Now come on, let's uh... let's not play games.

Man in Cafe:
What the hell you talkin' about?

David Mann:
I can call the police.

Man in Cafe:
[stops eating, looks surprised] Police?

David Mann:
You think that I won't? You're wrong, mister. I mean if you think you can just... just take that... that truck of yours and use it as a murder weapon and uh... killin' people on the highway... you're wrong! You got another thing comin'!

Man in Cafe:
[shakes head, fed up] Man, you need help.

David Mann:
[Mann slaps the sandwich out of his hand] Don't you tell me I need help!

[the man punches Mann in the stomach]

Cafe owner:
Heyy! [Rushes over and hurriedly pulls the trucker off Mann] Look at 'im! Who've you got to fight? You got nobody!

Man in Cafe:
[Grumbling] I lost my sandwich...

Cafe owner:
I'll buy you another sandwich, all right? How about a beer? I'll buy you a beer. [The man leaves, and the owner comes back to Mann] All right, you get outta here, huh?

[The truck smashes into the Snake Lady's phone booth]

David Mann:
Call the police!

Snake Lady:
With what? That's the only phone I got!

David Mann:
Well, you never know...you just never know. You just go along figuring some things don't change ever, like being able to drive on a public highway without someone trying to murder you. And then one stupid thing happens. Twenty, twenty-five minutes out of your whole life, and all the ropes that kept you hanging in there get cut loose, and it's like, there you are, right back in the jungle again. All right boy, it was a nightmare, but it's over now. [pauses] It's all over.

David Mann:
[to himself, in Chuck's Cafe] I don't know, all I did was pass this stupid rig a couple of times, and he goes flying off the deep end. He has to be crazy. Okay, so he's crazy. What can I do about it? Find him a psychiatrist? Oh, boy. Now wait a minute. Now wait just a minute. All right, now, think. Okay, he's in here. Well, that doesn't mean he intends to continue his attack. It is lunchtime, and Chuck's Cafe may be the only place to eat for miles around. Yeah. He probably eats here all the time. He was just moving too fast before, and he had to slow down, turn around, that's all. That's all. [pause] Why didn't I leave right away when I saw his truck outside? Then I'd know what he intends to do. What if he followed me out, though? Started after me again? I'd be right back where I started; even if I got a lead, he'd overtake me soon enough. He's got some, some, some souped up diesel; my car's just not that powerful, I just can't break eighty and ninety miles an hour. As soon as I stop concentrating, I'd go back to sixty or seventy like I always do; it's a habit, I can't help it, he's just... [pauses] take it easy...just, take it easy.